


merry christmas, lake

by electricangel



Category: Infinity Train (Cartoon)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Lil smooch, Non-Binary Lake, Other, awkward fluff, enby lake, i am literally so touch starved, jesslake - Freeform, just kids being dorks, soft stuff, winter fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:47:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28495578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electricangel/pseuds/electricangel
Summary: this was meant to be published on christmas but my adhd said <3 no <3 anyways happy new year :)
Relationships: Jesse Cosay & Lake | Mirror Tulip, Jesse Cosay & Nate Cosay, Nate Cosay & Lake | Mirror Tulip
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	merry christmas, lake

**Author's Note:**

> the friendship bracelet thing was inspired by @shystixx on instagram!! please go check out their wonderful art <3333

lake let out a sigh, their breath making a cloud in the air. one thing lake had learned about arizona, if anything, was that when it got cold in the winter, it got COLD. although this was their first winter in arizona, they could tell. snow was practically piled over the grass, hiding it. 

unfortunately, jesse hadn’t been able to spend much time with lake. christmas break was coming up, which meant he had a lot of work to finish. lake didn’t mind, but it was hard being away from him. luckily though, nate spent time with lake when jesse couldn’t. 

“hey lake.” nate said, holding lake’s hand and smiling. “have you ever been caroling?”

“what? oh, no.” they answered, returning his smile. “tulip didn’t really care for that. and she was a horrible singer.”

nate laughed. “well, we should try it! i think you’d have fun.”

lake shrugged with their free hand. “i guess.” 

they’d been off the train for awhile now. and ever since, nate had been like a younger brother to them. of course, they weren’t siblings, but sometimes it felt like it. he looked up to them a lot, asked for advice, and spent time with them a lot. they were really close. it was something lake never took for granted. 

nate glanced at his watch, turning to lake. “we should head home. i think my mom’s making lunch right now.”

lake nodded, but before they could answer, nate began running.

“race you!” he called back.

“hey!” lake laughed, chasing after him. when they arrived back home, nate had won, puffing his chest in triumph. 

“you little cheater,” lake panted, ruffling his hair. 

nate looked proud. “i still won.” 

“yeah, you did.” they agreed, walking inside with him. 

whittney greeted them both with a hug. “nate! lake! welcome home.” she smiled. although lake was still adjusting to physical contact, they happily returned the hug. 

“hi, mrs. cosay.” they glanced into the kitchen. “is there anything i can help with?”

“you’re a doll. you can help me chop these veggies... nate, you have work to do, love.”

he sighed. “yes, mom.”

lake and whittney shared a laugh. 

“are you enjoying winter here?” she asked as she moved about the kitchen. 

“it’s nice. i don’t think tulip really enjoyed being outside during this time, so it’s nice to actually explore.” 

“i see. tulip was your... human counterpart? correct?”

“my prime.” 

“right. and how is she?”

“oh...” lake paused their chopping. “...she hasn’t really contacted me.”

“do you plan on talking?”

guilt crept into their chest. they’d been so harsh to tulip in mirror car... did they really deserve her forgiveness? 

“i don’t know.” they said instead. 

the conversation grew less awkward when whittney let out a sigh. 

“sorry, i didn’t mean to go heavy on you there.” she apologized. 

“it’s okay,” lake lied, still feeling minor discomfort from the conversation. they both carried on their work in silence, lake continuing to chop vegetables and whittney preparing the stew and other assortments they’d have. it was relatively peaceful until a loud yell echoed, making lake drop their knife and jump back. 

“woah.” they mumbled. 

whittney lowered the heat on the stove, pausing. 

“was.. that jesse?” lake felt slightly concerned, but couldn’t stifle a light laugh when they spoke. 

“sounded like it.. could you check on him, dear? i can take care of the veggies, don’t worry.”

lake nodded, the endearing term filling them with slight warmth. they left the kitchen and made their way to jesse’s room. he was sitting at his desk, earbuds in, gripping his hair tightly. for the first time in a very, VERY long time, jesse wasn’t brightly grinning and overly enthusiastic.

lake stood there for a moment. they were really bad at comforting people. it didn’t come easy to them. heck, they despised physical affection until jesse came and made it almost a necessity. 

they approached him slowly, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“hey,” they began, as softly as they could muster, “..you okay?”

he looked up, visibly tired. 

“no... i mean.. yeah. i just..” he let out a groan, collapsing further backwards into his chair. 

“i’m stressed is all. these exams are a pain.. it doesn’t help that half the material is on stuff i missed when i was on the stupid train, either.”

“so that yell was you, then...? were you just seriously pissed off, or are exams literally killing you? because if so, maybe your mom should contact the school.”  
jesse laughed. lake looked up, smiling. it felt nice to see him laugh again. so they edged on.

clearing their throat, lake began their best “nurse” impression.

“what’s that, mrs. cosay? oh, exams killed your son? damn. give him some ice and send him back to class. i’m sure the kid’ll be fine.”

jesse laughed again, harder this time, and lake continued to do impressions until they both fell on the floor, messes. both of them were still momentarily in laughing fits before calming down. 

“thanks.” jesse sighed, standing up. “i needed that. badly.”

“you’re welcome. that’s what friends are for, right?” 

they were both silent for a while, until jesse finally spoke, collapsing onto his bed as he did so. lake sat next to him.

“i think i need a break. i’ve forgotten what it’s like to have fun at this point.”

lake chuckled. “honestly man, you’ve been cooped up in your dumb room for a week, surviving off of fruit punch and boxes of saltines. you’ve forgotten what a LOT of stuff is like by now.” 

they shared a laugh again.

“but seriously, i get what you mean. if there’s anything i can do to help you cheer up, i’m willing.”

his eyes lit up. 

“oh no.”

“watch christmas movies with me!!! we can set up a fort and make popcorn! i don’t know if you get cold or not.. but if you do, we have plenty of soft blankets, and.. well, it’ll be fun! you’ll see. it’ll be fun! promise.”

lake couldn’t help but laugh every time jesse got like this. he could be insanely childish at almost any given time, and lake supposed that’s what made them get along so well. lake was pretty much jesse’s opposite, but sometimes they were almost entirely alike. like how both of them liked animals, video games, and the snow... but when it came to pizza, they never agreed. (jesse enjoys pineapple on his, lake finds it absolutely sinful.) 

“if it makes you feel better.” they agreed reluctantly, though deep down they knew they’d have fun. 

jesse clapped, jumping up. he ran over to the couch, tearing off the cushions and stacking the pillows. eventually, he managed to build a fort, although it was incredibly messy. he draped a blanket over the top, and crawled inside. whittney, who most likely overheard their conversation, brought a bowl of popcorn for them. they both thanked her, and she nodded, returning to the kitchen. 

jesse grinned, turning on the tv. lake couldn’t help but smile along with him. jesse filtered through a few christmas movies, until finally, he decided on ‘elf.’ he leaned back, wrapping himself in a blanket to keep warm. 

lake raised an eyebrow as the intro played. 

“what on earth is this?”

“shhh... it’s just the beginning! it gets better.”

“i wanna murder that dumb bird.” they deadpanned. 

“lake!!” jesse laughed, shoving them gently. 

“what?? it’s annoying.” they replied innocently, making jesse laugh again. but laughter aside, they both turned to pay attention to the film.

they were part of the way in when the kiss scene appeared, and jesse became suddenly flustered (having taken lake ice skating with him the other day). he cleared his throat awkwardly, shifting his position. 

lake paused the movie, noticing his behavior. 

“what’s wrong.”

“wh... nothing! nothing’s wrong.”

“jesse, something is clearly wrong. be honest. you got incredibly flustered just now.” 

jesse blushed harder knowing they noticed. he rubbed his neck.

“well it’s... we went ice skating just the other day, and that scene..”  
“and? i don’t get what the big deal is...?” “well, i.. i don’t know- it doesn’t seem.. awkward to you...?”

“jesse, how long have we been friends again? you don’t have to be uncomfortable with kiss scenes around me. i’m not a child.. i know it may be awkward to watch it with other people, but i promise there’s no judgement here.” 

jesse nodded, though that wasn’t at all what he meant. but he knew now wasn’t the right time to tell them that. still slightly uncomfortable, he resumed the movie, leaning back and fidgeting with the blanket. lake noticed, and sighing, took his hands in their own. 

“dude,” they whispered. “it’s fine.”

jesse’s face flushed. “yeah... i know. thanks.” he whispered back, the movie playing in the background as he slowly began to relax against lake. 

they didn’t mind, at this point they were too invested in the movie to notice. the rest of the movie, lake laughed, smiled, and found themselves having fun despite being so reluctant before. 

and, to jesse’s surprise, they began to sing along to some of the songs as they repeated. he glanced at them with a warm smile as they sang. 

when the movie ended, lake let out a heavy sigh, turning to face jesse and talk about it with him. but when they glanced at their shoulder, they found him asleep, snoring slightly, his grip on their hand remaining tight. 

they found themselves smiling. they figured whittney wouldn’t have dinner ready for another hour or so... so it wouldn’t hurt to let him sleep. 

it didn’t take long, however, for lake to fall asleep too. they didn’t know how long they’d been asleep until jesse’s mom called them all for dinner. 

jesse stirred, glancing up at lake.

“morning, sleeping beauty.” they teased. 

“wh...” he shook his head, clearly disoriented. “when did i fall asleep?”

“awhile ago.”

“oh... sorry.” 

“what- no, jesse- it’s fine. you clearly needed to sleep. though i don’t imagine my shoulder being very.. comfortable.”

jesee realized what he’d done at that moment, slightly flustered by it. 

“i was too tired to notice, i guess.” 

“lake! jesse! dinner!” his mom called again. 

“sorry, mrs. cosay! be right there!” 

-

by the time night came, lake was nowhere to be found. as soon as jesse had finished studying, he was alarmed to see they weren’t anywhere in the house.

“has anyone seen lake?” he prompted to his parents. they shook their heads.

“no dear, sorry.” 

he frantically began to search around the house again, until nate stopped him.

“she- i mean, they-“ he paused, pointing at the door. “they went outside somewhere. they didn’t tell me where, though.”

“thanks, nate.” he patted his shoulder, then ran outside, calling their name. 

“i’m over here, jesse.” he heard a voice say at last, and he breathed a sigh of relief. he found them in front of the lake they’d stood in front of when they escaped the train. they were staring into the water, deep in thought.

“hey, what happened? you disappeared. i was worried.”

“sorry. i just... needed fresh air.”

“is everything okay, lay?”

“yeah, i just..” they flopped onto the grass with a sigh. “i was just... thinking.” 

“what about...?”

“tulip.. and the train, i guess.” 

“tulip? i thought you didn’t like her?”

“no... i do.. i think i was way too harsh on her. i mean, she’s the whole reason i was able to escape. she meant well. i think i was upset at her because i was her reflection and.. i don’t know. got sick of her i guess. i think she deserves an apology, though.”

“you know...”

“what...?”

“i’m proud of you. that’s a hard thing to admin sometimes. you know, being wrong. it’s nice to see you being honest with yourself.”

lake chuckled, pushing his arm. “you doof. but... thanks. that’s... surprisingly endearing.” 

“hey wait a second.. i know what’ll cheer you up.”

“wh..”

“wait right there!”

lake raised an eyebrow as jesse returned with a clear box full of string. 

“what the-“

“hold out your wrist!”

“my... okay?” they moved their hand from where it’s blanket (mostly containing snow), and held their hand out to jesse.

“okay. hold still....” he took the string and wrapped it around their hand. he tied it with care, then leaned back on his hands, his gloves brushing the snow.

“what.. is this...?”

“it’s a friendship bracelet! i got a kit last year but i didn’t have anyone to make them with.” 

“it’s stupid.” they responded, half jokingly. but soon enough, they were making sets, using up half the string. sometimes they added some flowers (despite them being frozen) for a bit of flare. soon enough though, the kit had run out of supplies. the pair had decorated each other’s arms in friendship bracelets. 

jesse sighed, checking his phone. “crap.”

“what?” 

“it’s midnight.” he said nervously. “we should be going.”

they nodded, wiping the snow off their pants. jesse assisted them while they got up, to ensure that they didn’t fall. 

when they reached the house, lake yawned, preparing to go to the spare bedroom jesse’s parents had allowed them to stay in. 

“hey lake, wait.” jesse gently grabbed their wrist. 

“wh..”

jesse kissed lake’s cheek softly before walking away.

“merry christmas, lake.”


End file.
